Stock level indication apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

In some embodiments, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful to provide a visual indication of a weight of products stocked on a display assembly, such as a shelf of a shelving unit. The visual indication is provided by virtue of the display assembly having a product support member with a curved configuration that sequentially flattens as additional weight is added thereto. A laser device can be mounted proximate to the assembly and oriented to determine a distance to the product support member and a control circuit can be configured to receive the distance and analyze the distance to determine a deflection of the product support member to determine a current stock level.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/397,015, filed Sep. 20, 2016, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to retail shelving and, moreparticularly, to stocking level indicating shelving assemblies.

BACKGROUND

Tracking inventory within a retail location can be important to aretailer. For example, if a product is out of stock on the shelf, theretail location could be losing potential sales. As such, retaillocations can send associates around the store to check on stock levels,but this can waste time and money when stock levels are satisfactory.Additionally, while a retail location may be able to determine a generalnumber of customers within a store, it can be more difficult todetermine how many products customers are purchasing, which can lead tolong check-out lines and low stock levels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Disclosed herein are embodiments of systems, apparatuses and methodspertaining to a shelving assembly that provides an indication of astocking level of products on the shelving assembly. This descriptionincludes drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a product display assembly having aproduct support member with a curved configuration in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a first example shelving unithaving product display assemblies mounted thereto scanned by laserdevices in accordance with several embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a second example shelving unithaving product display assemblies mounted thereto scanned by laserdevices in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the shelving unit of FIG. 3 in accordancewith several embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart in accordance with some embodiments.

Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity andhave not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensionsand/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures maybe exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improveunderstanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also,common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in acommercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order tofacilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of thepresent invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described ordepicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in theart will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence isnot actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have theordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressionsby persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above exceptwhere different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally speaking, pursuant to various embodiments, systems,apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful to provide ameasurable indication of a weight of products stocked on a displayassembly, such as a shelf of a shelving unit. With information about theproducts stocked on the display assembly, a number of productscorresponding to the weight can be determined. The measureableindication is provided by virtue of the display assembly having aproduct support member with a curved configuration that sequentiallyflattens as additional weight is added thereto.

More specifically, a product display assembly is described herein thatutilizes the accumulated weight of products stocked thereon to flatten acurved product support member thereof. A laser device can be mountedproximate to the assembly and oriented to project a beam to the productsupport member to determine a distance to the product support memberbased on a reflection of the beam therefrom. The distance indicates adeflection of the product support member, which can then be used todetermine a stock level for the products stocked thereon. Accordingly,the assembly and electronic imaging device described hereinadvantageously avoids having to manipulate or remove products todetermine a current stock level and helps a retail location avoid beingout of product on the shelf.

By some approaches, a control circuit can be configured to receive thedistance from the laser device and analyze the distance to determine acurrent stock level. For example, the control circuit can be configuredto estimate a weight of the products on the assembly based on adetermined deflection amount of the curved product support member.Utilizing the estimated weight and the type of product stocked on theshelf, an approximate number of products on the shelf can beextrapolated.

An example product display assembly 10 is shown in FIGS. 1-4. Theproduct display assembly 10 can be any structure used to displayproducts 12 for sale, such as shelves mounted to walls or shelvingunits, tables, etc. The product display assembly 10 includes a frame 14and a product support member 16 mounted to the frame 14 and configuredto receive the products 12 thereon.

As shown, the product support member 16 has a curved configuration suchthat a lower surface 18 is concave and an upper surface 20 thereof isconvex. The product support member 16 of this form is generallyrectangular with front and rear edge portions 22, 24 extending betweenside edge portions 26, such that, in an unstocked state, the productsupport member 16 has a raised intermediate portion 28 with respect tothe front and rear edge portions 22, 24 thereof. So configured, asproducts 12 are stocked on the product support member 16, the weight ofthe products 12 sequentially flattens the curved configuration of theproduct support member 16 can causes it to deflect, and the amount ofdeflection provides a visual and measurable indication of theaccumulated weight of the products 12.

The frame 14 includes at least a front portion 30 and lateral portions32 extending rearwardly from the front portion 30. If desired, the frame14 can further include a back portion. In some embodiments, the frontedge portion 22 of the product support member 16 mounts to the frame 14along the front portion 30 thereof. Preferably, the product supportmember 16 is pivotably coupled to the frame 14 so that as products 12are stocked thereon and the curved configuration thereof sequentiallyflattens, the front edge portion 22 can pivot and the rear edge portion24 can freely slide rearwardly along the lateral portions 32 of theframe 14. In the illustrated form, the lateral portions 32 of the frame14 are aligned with the side edge portions 26 of the product supportmember 16. In further forms, the frame 14 can include one or moreintermediate lateral portions 32 for additional support.

The product display assembly 10 can advantageously be utilized inconjunction with a laser device 34 and a control circuit 36 to remotelymonitor a stock level of the products 12 on the product display assembly10. More specifically, the laser device 34 can be configured to projecta beam to the product support member 16, such as continuously,periodically, or on command, and receive a reflection of the beamtherefrom to thereby measure a distance to the product support member16. The measured distance can then be sent to the control circuit 36,such as over a wired or wireless connection, for analysis. The controlcircuit 36 can analyze the measured distance to the product supportmember 16 to determine the weight of products 12 stocked thereon.

The term control circuit refers broadly to any microcontroller,computer, or processor-based device with processor, memory, andprogrammable input/output peripherals, which is generally designed togovern the operation of other components and devices. It is furtherunderstood to include common accompanying accessory devices, includingmemory, transceivers for communication with other components anddevices, etc. These architectural options are well known and understoodin the art and require no further description here. The control circuit36 may be configured (for example, by using corresponding programmingstored in a memory as will be well understood by those skilled in theart) to carry out one or more of the steps, actions, and/or functionsdescribed herein.

The control circuit 36 can be calibrated so that a subsequentconfiguration of the product support member 16 can be associated with aweight of products 12 stocked thereon. For example, the control circuit36 can receive a distance to the product support member 16 in anunstocked configuration and a distance to the product support member 16in a fully stocked configuration. As the weight of products 12 in thefully stocked configuration is known, the control circuit 36 canassociate the deflection or flattening of the product support member 16indicated by the distance to the weight of the products 12 to therebycreate a projection for future comparison. Additionally, after thecontrol circuit 36 determines the total weight stocked on the productsupport member 16, the control circuit 36 can determine which product 12is stocked thereon and the individual weight of each to extrapolate thenumber of products 12 currently stocked on the assembly 10. The productinformation, include weight and location information, can be stored onone or more remote or local storage devices 42, such as server and/ordatabase devices, accessible by the control circuit 36 over wired orwireless connections.

In one example, the product display assemblies 10 can be shelves mountedto a shelving unit 44. Based on a particular use, multiple shelvingunits 44 can be aligned in a row to produce an aisle in a retaillocation. The shelving unit 44 includes a base portion 46 and a backwall 48 extending upwardly therefrom. The base portion 46 can include abase deck 50 and a kick plate 52, as commonly configured. A plurality ofshelf notches 54 are vertically disposed adjacent to lateral edges 56 ofthe back wall 48 to provide anchor points for the shelves 10 mounted tothe shelving unit 44, and specifically for the lateral portions 32 ofthe frame 14. When the shelves 10 are mounted to the back wall 48, thereis a gap 38 between the product support member 16 and the back wall 48that sequentially decreases in width as products 12 are stocked on theshelf 10 and the product support member 16 flattens. After the shelvingunit 44 is assembled, associates can then stock products 12 on theshelves 10.

In a first form, as shown in FIG. 2, the back wall 48 can have anupstanding, generally vertical configuration, such that the shelves 10are stacked one above the other. By one approach, the shelves 10 can bemounted to the back wall 48 with similar configurations and gap 38sizes. One or more laser devices 34 can be mounted adjacent to theshelving unit 44 so that the deflection of the product support member 16of each can be monitored by measuring the distance thereto. By oneapproach, the imagers 34 can be mounted at a plurality of angles withrespect to vertical to view the shelving unit 44 from a variety oforientations and thereby monitor all of the product support members 16.The laser devices 34 can preferably be mounted to a ceiling, with lowershelves 10 accessible by the laser devices 34 through the gaps 38 of theupper shelves 10. Other mounting options can include on adjacentshelving units 44, on walls adjacent to the shelving unit 44, or thelike. If desired, in one example, a movable or pivotable laser device 34can be mounted to the ceiling to monitor all of the shelves 10 mountedto the shelving unit 44. In another example, a laser device 34 can bemounted to the ceiling to monitor the shelves 10 mounted at the top ofthe shelving unit 44 and one or more laser devices 34 can be mountedadjacent to a side or bottom of the shelving unit 44 to monitorintermediate and lower shelves 10.

By another approach, the shelves 10 can have gaps 38 of varying sizes.For example, the topmost shelf 10 can have the largest gap 38, and thegaps 38 of subsequent shelves 10 can be sequentially decreased so thatthe width of each gap 38 is visible from above the shelving unit 44. Asimilar configuration could work with a laser device 34 mounted withinthe base deck and the largest gap 38 on the lowermost shelf 10. Ifdesired, any gaps 38, or portions thereof, can be covered using atransparent cover to prevent products 12 from falling through the gap38. The varying gap sizes can be achieved by differently sized productsupport members 16 or by altering the mounting structure of the shelves10, such T-bar mounting structures for modular units.

By another approach, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the back wall 48 canhave an angled configuration such that it tapers outwardly as it extendsaway from the floor and the back end of each shelf 10 is visible fromabove. If desired, the back wall 48 can have a triangular configurationwith shelves 10 mounted to one or both sides thereof. The back wall 48can further include an open or transparent top 58 so that lower mountedshelves 10 are visible from above the shelving unit 44. So configured, asingle laser device 34 mounted above the shelving unit 44 can monitoreach of the product support members 16 of the shelves 10 through theopen top 58. For example, the laser device 34 can be configured to pivotto direct beams at the various shelves 10.

So configured, the product display assembly 10, configured as describedherein, can be utilized within a retail location to monitor stock levelsand determine 100 a current stock level as shown in FIG. 5. Morespecifically, an associate at a retail location can stock products 12 onthe product support member 16 of the assembly 10. As the products 12 arereceived 102 on the product support member 16, the curved configurationthereof sequentially flattens 104 due to the weight of the products 12.The laser device 34 can then measure 106 a distance to the productsupport member 16, which is based on the deflection of the productsupport member 16 thereof. The control circuit 36 receives the measureddistance and analyzes 108 the distance to determine a deflection of theproduct support member 16. The control circuit 36 then compares thedeflection to the projection for the product support member 16 createdfrom the calibration to estimate 108 a total weight of the stockedproducts 12. The control circuit 36 can also access the productinformation to determine the weight of each product 12 and estimate 110a total number of products 12 stocked on the shelf 10 based on theestimated weight. The control circuit 36 can compare the total number ofproducts 12 to a predetermined number, set in advance as correspondingto a low stock level, and can send 112 a low stock signal in response todetermining that the total number is at or below the predeterminednumber. If desired, the low stock signal can create a work flow task tosend an associate to check on the stock level and/or restock the shelf10 with products 12.

In some embodiments, a stock level indication system is described hereinthat includes a shelving unit, one or more laser devices, and a controlcircuit in communication with the one or more laser devices. Theshelving unit includes an upstanding back wall; and a plurality ofshelves mounted to the back wall, where the plurality of shelves eachinclude a product support member having a curved configuration with aconvex upper surface and concave lower surface such that an intermediateportion of the product support member is raised with respect to outeredges thereof. The curved configuration of the product support membersis configured to sequentially deflect as products are stocked thereonsuch that a height of the intermediate portion of the product supportmember varies with respect to a weight of products stocked thereon. Theone or more laser devices are mounted adjacent to the shelving unit andoriented to measure distances to the product support members; and thecontrol circuit is configured to analyze the distances to estimate adeflection of each of the product support members and estimate a weightof products stocked on each of the product support members based on theestimated deflections.

By several approaches, the control circuit is configured to becalibrated by analyzing distances of the product support members withthe intermediate portions at a maximum height thereof corresponding toan unstocked configuration and analyzing distances of the productsupport members with the intermediate portions at a minimum heightthereof corresponding to a fully stocked configuration.

By some approaches, the control circuit is further configured to: accessproduct location information; and estimate the number of products on theshelf based on the product location information and the estimatedweight. By further approaches, the control circuit is configured to senda low stock signal in response to determining that the number ofproducts estimated to be on the shelf is at or below a predeterminednumber.

By several approaches, the plurality of shelves are mounted to the backwall such that there is a gap between the product support member and theback wall; a depth of the gap varies with the deflection of the productsupport member; and the one or more laser devices are oriented tomeasure distances of product support members of lower shelves throughthe gaps.

In several embodiments, a method for determining a stock level isdescribed herein that includes receiving one or more products on one ormore of a plurality of shelves of a shelving unit, the shelving unitincluding an upstanding back wall and the plurality of shelves mountedthereto, the plurality of shelves each including a product supportmember having a curved configuration with a convex upper surface andconcave lower surface such that an intermediate portion of the productsupport member is raised with respect to outer edges thereof;sequentially deflecting the curved configuration of the one or more ofthe plurality of shelves as the one or more products are stocked thereonsuch that a height of the intermediate portion of the product supportmember varies with respect to a weight of products stocked on theproduct support member; measuring distances to the product supportmembers with one or more laser devices mounted adjacent to the shelvingunit; and analyzing the distances with a control circuit incommunication with the one or more laser devices to estimate adeflection of each of the product support members and estimate a weightof products stocked on each of the product support members based on theestimated deflections.

By some approaches, the method further comprises calibrating the controlcircuit by analyzing distances of the product support members having amaximum height of the intermediate portion corresponding to an unstockedconfiguration and analyzing distances of the product support membershaving a minimum height of the intermediate portion corresponding to afully stocked configuration.

By several approaches, the method further comprises: accessing productlocation information; and estimating the number of products on the shelfbased on the product location information and the estimated weight. Byfurther approaches, the method comprises sending a low stock signal inresponse to determining that the number of products estimated to be onthe shelf is at or below a predetermined number.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety of othermodifications, alterations, and combinations can also be made withrespect to the above described embodiments without departing from thescope of the invention, and that such modifications, alterations, andcombinations are to be viewed as being within the ambit of the inventiveconcept.

What is claimed is:
 1. A stock level indication system comprising: ashelving unit comprising: an upstanding back wall; a plurality ofshelves mounted to the back wall, the plurality of shelves eachincluding a product support member having a curved configuration with aconvex upper surface and concave lower surface such that an intermediateportion of the product support member is raised with respect to outeredges thereof, wherein the curved configuration of the product supportmembers is configured to sequentially deflect as products are stockedthereon such that a height of the intermediate portion of the productsupport member varies with respect to a weight of products stockedthereon; one or more laser devices mounted adjacent to the shelving unitand oriented to measure distances to the product support members; and acontrol circuit in communication with the one or more laser devices andconfigured to analyze the distances to estimate a deflection of each ofthe product support members and estimate a weight of products stocked oneach of the product support members based on the estimated deflections.2. The stock level indication system of claim 1, wherein the controlcircuit is configured to be calibrated by analyzing distances of theproduct support members with the intermediate portions at a maximumheight thereof corresponding to an unstocked configuration and analyzingdistances of the product support members with the intermediate portionsat a minimum height thereof corresponding to a fully stockedconfiguration.
 3. The stock level indication system of claim 2, whereinthe control circuit is further configured to: access product locationinformation; and estimate the number of products on the shelf based onthe product location information and the estimated weight.
 4. The stocklevel indication system of claim 3, wherein the control circuit isfurther configured to send a low stock signal in response to determiningthat the number of products estimated to be on the shelf is at or belowa predetermined number.
 5. The stock level indication system of claim 1,wherein the plurality of shelves are mounted to the back wall such thatthere is a gap between the product support member and the back wall; adepth of the gap varies with the deflection of the product supportmember; and the one or more laser devices are oriented to measuredistances of product support members of lower shelves through the gaps.6. The stock level indication system of claim 5, wherein one or more ofthe shelves further comprise a transparent cover portion configured tocover at least a portion of the gap.
 7. The stock level indicationsystem of claim 5, wherein, with the same weight on each of the productsupport members, the shelves are mounted to the back wall such that thegaps of the shelves get sequentially smaller with a lower mountingheight.
 8. The stock level indication system of claim 1, wherein theback wall is angled outwardly so as to be at an acute angle withhorizontal and includes an intermediate opening or transparent portion,such that the shelves are disposed at least partially laterally adjacentto one another when viewed from above the shelving unit.
 9. The stocklevel indication system of claim 1, wherein the one or more laserdevices are mounted above the shelving unit.
 10. The stock levelindication system of claim 1, wherein the one or more laser devicescomprise a plurality of laser devices oriented at different angles withrespect to the shelving unit.
 11. A method for determining a stocklevel, the method comprising: receiving one or more products on one ormore of a plurality of shelves of a shelving unit, the shelving unitincluding an upstanding back wall and the plurality of shelves mountedthereto, the plurality of shelves each including a product supportmember having a curved configuration with a convex upper surface andconcave lower surface such that an intermediate portion of the productsupport member is raised with respect to outer edges thereof,sequentially deflecting the curved configuration of the one or more ofthe plurality of shelves as the one or more products are stocked thereonsuch that a height of the intermediate portion of the product supportmember varies with respect to a weight of products stocked on theproduct support member; measuring distances to the product supportmembers with one or more laser devices mounted adjacent to the shelvingunit; and analyzing the distances with a control circuit incommunication with the one or more laser devices to estimate adeflection of each of the product support members and estimate a weightof products stocked on each of the product support members based on theestimated deflections.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprisingcalibrating the control circuit by analyzing distances of the productsupport members having a maximum height of the intermediate portioncorresponding to an unstocked configuration and analyzing distances ofthe product support members having a minimum height of the intermediateportion corresponding to a fully stocked configuration.
 13. The methodof claim 12, further comprising: accessing product location information;and estimating the number of products on the shelf based on the productlocation information and the estimated weight.
 14. The method of claim13, further comprising sending a low stock signal in response todetermining that the number of products estimated to be on the shelf isat or below a predetermined number.
 15. The method of claim 11, whereinthe plurality of shelves are mounted to the back wall such that there isa gap between the product support member and the back wall; andmeasuring the distances to the product support members with the one ormore laser devices comprises measuring the distances to lower productsupport members with the one or more laser devices through the gaps. 16.The method of claim 11, wherein measuring the distances to the productsupport members with one or more laser devices comprises measuringdistances to the product support members with a movable laser device.17. The method of claim 11, wherein measuring the distances to theproduct support members with one or more laser devices comprisesmeasuring distances to the product support members with a plurality oflaser devices oriented at different angles with respect to the shelvingunit.
 18. The stock level indication system of claim 1, wherein thedistances to the product support members are measured based on areflection of a beam projected to the product support members by the oneor more laser devices.
 19. The method of claim 11, wherein the distancesto the product support members are measured based on a reflection of abeam projected to the product support members by the one or more laserdevices.